Three new certificates in Food and Agriculture; Energy Solutions; and The Built Environment!

We are accepting applications for a Winter start (January 3, 2012) of all three programs now.

Sustainable Built Environment
Taught by Jason F. McLennan, a pioneer in the green building world, this certificate is a yearlong program designed for working executives seeking to enhance their career path in green building and the built environment. This course will be offered at BGI’s Bainbridge Island Learning Site;  IslandWood, a LEED Gold Certified facility.

The Certificate in Sustainable Built Environment will provide students with a foundational understanding of the rapidly evolving green building industry. Professionals with an interest in the growing green building market will learn how to create new products and services for the design and construction sector, as well as understand the development, finance, and real estate sectors from a green perspective. More details and a slideshare overview can be found on the our website.

Instructor Jason McLennan is the founder of the world’s most progressive and stringent green building program, the Living Building Challenge. McLennan, along with a highly expert team from the Cascadia Green Building Council will equip students with case studies and the knowledge required for a career in green building and development.

Sustainable Energy Solutions
We are pleased to have both Bryan Willson, PhD and Jimmy Jia, MBA coming together to teach this yearlong certificate program.

The Certificate in Sustainable Energy Solutions will provide you with a foundational understanding of the renewable and non-renewable energy arenas, including the structure and economics of the energy business. The program will cover the major technologies and how the energy business works today, the major energy industries, culminating in a business plan and application of knowledge for a real-life practicum. More details and a slideshare overview by Gifford Pinchot, BGI Co-founder and President, can be found on our website.

Instructor Bryan Willson was named by Scientific American as one of the top ten individuals making significant scientific contributions serving humanity on a global basis. Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University, Willson has worked for more than 25 years to develop large-scale solutions for global energy needs. He serves as the Director of CSU’s Clean Energy Supercluster, co-founder of Solix Biofuels and Envirofit International and is the Founder and Director for CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory. Willson also serves as the Co-Director of the China-US Joint Research Institute for New Energy and the Environment, in Shanghai, China. Co-instructor Jimmy Jia, LEED® Green Associate is the Co-founder and CEO of Distributed Energy Management, a company that reduces energy consumption by ‘translating’ energy data into operational costs. Jia serves on the MIT Enterprise Forum of Seattle, as an MIT Energy Ambassador, and as a Cleantech advisor to TiE-Seattle.

Sustainable Food and Agriculture
In response to the overwhelming interest of our students over the years, we have developedthis certificate taught by BGI alumnae Tony D’Onofrio, MBA; and BGI Dean of Academic Affairs John Gardner, PhD. This sector has drastic impact on society’s sustenance and the supply chain providing food, feed, fiber, and fuel.

This 12 credit graduate certification, will equip working professionals with the knowledge and tools to spur innovation and creativity in the design and operation of businesses that pursue a more sustainable food and agricultural system.

The Sustainable Food and Agriculture Certificate offers an integrated examination of food systems in the US and globally, and examines business opportunities at a broad range of scale, including hyper-local, local, regional, national, and global. The program includes an in-depth practicum, in which students develop and present an entrepreneurial opportunity as a new business or transformational change in an existing business. More details and a slideshare overview by BGI Dean, John Gardner, can be found on our website.

Representing an emphasis on whole-systems and the entire supply chain, this program is led by instructors whose careers represent expertise at both ends of the food chain. BGI Dean, John Gardner PhD, brings experience from serving at five land grant universities.  He has been a researcher, administrator, teacher, and entrepreneur in mid-west US agriculture and offers extensive knowledge and experience in large-scale farming and ranching, certification systems, food processing, and global marketing of food ingredients and agri-industrial products. Co-instructor Tony D’Onofrio is a Certified Executive Chef and was a regional corporate chef in the food service and restaurant industry. Tony earned his MBA from BGI and currently serves as the Sustainability Director for Town & Country Markets, a progressive chain of Puget Sound retail grocery outlets. D’Onofrio also serves on the Board of the Puget Sound Regional Food Policy Council.

All three certificates will begin Winter 2012 and will be taught in a hybrid format, using monthly face-to-face “intensive” experiences, combined with both synchronous and asynchronous distance learning between sessions incorporating a variety of learning methodologies. The Certificate in Built Environment will be located at IslandWood on Bainbridge Island, while the Certificates in Energy Solutions and Sustainable Food and Agriculture will be offered at the Seattle Learning Site, conveniently located in downtown Seattle.

These certificate credits are transferable into the BGI MBA in Sustainable Systems should you desire to continue to the MBA program.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss if one of these program is the right fit for you. Or attend an upcoming Information Session  to learn more. We are very excited about these three topic areas and in the evolution of our curriculum.

Be Well,
Aly

aly.tibbetts@bgi.edu